Waccamaw Indian People facts for kids
Official logo of the
Waccamaw Indian People |
|
| Named after | Waccamaw people Waccamaw River |
|---|---|
| Formation | October 28, 1992 |
| Founder | Harold D. Hatcher |
| Type | state-recognized tribe, nonprofit organization |
| Legal status | school, educational service provider, charity |
| Purpose | B90: Educational Services |
| Headquarters | Conway, South Carolina |
| Location |
|
|
Official language
|
English |
|
President
|
Harold D. Hatcher |
|
Formerly called
|
Chicora Indian Nation Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People |
The Waccamaw Indian People is a group recognized by the state of South Carolina as a Native American tribe. It is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which means it's a group that works for a good cause and doesn't aim to make money. Their main office is in Conway, South Carolina.
The state of South Carolina officially recognized the Waccamaw Indian People on February 17, 2005. This made them the first state-recognized tribe in South Carolina. It's important to know that being "state-recognized" is different from being "federally recognized." Federal recognition means the U.S. government officially recognizes a tribe. The Waccamaw Indian People are not federally recognized.
This group believes they are descendants of the historic Waccamaw people. There is another group, the Waccamaw Siouan Indians in North Carolina, who also say they are descended from the Waccamaw. These two groups are not connected. The Waccamaw Indian People trace their family history back to the Dimery Settlement. This was a community near Dog Bluff in Horry County. It was first settled in the early 1800s. Members of the organization believe the Dimery Settlement started as an 18th-century Waccamaw village. However, old records only show it as an indigenous community starting in the early 1900s.
Contents
How the Waccamaw Indian People Are Governed
The Waccamaw Indian People first formed as a nonprofit group on October 28, 1992. It was originally called the Chicora Indian Nation. Harold D. "Buster" Hatcher started the organization. He is its founder, president, and first chief. In 2002, the group decided to remove "Chicora" from its name. This was to avoid being confused with another group, the Chicora Indian Tribe.
On February 17, 2005, the South Carolina Commission of Minority Affairs officially recognized the Waccamaw Indian People as a state-recognized tribe. This was a big moment, as they were the first tribe in South Carolina to get this recognition.
The History of Their Ancestors
Members of the Waccamaw Indian People trace their family lines back to the historic Dimery Settlement. This was a community in Horry County near Dog Bluff. The Dimery family was a "tri-racial isolate" group. This means they were a community of people with mixed African, European, and Native American ancestors.
Harold Hatcher and many members of the Waccamaw Indian People are descendants of John Dimery. He is said to have founded the settlement near modern Aynor, South Carolina in the early 1800s. During the time of segregation, this community had its own church and later its own school. This was because they did not want their children to go to schools for African American children. People in this era often called members of the settlement "free coloreds" or "croatans."
Newspapers in Horry County talked a lot about the Dimery Settlement in the early 1900s. They wondered about the racial backgrounds of the people living there. This led to some legal cases when people from the settlement were accused of marrying outside of their race. This was against the "anti-miscegenation laws" of that time, which made it illegal for people of different races to marry.
In 1994, a historian named Forest Hazel was hired to help the Chicora-Waccamaw Indian People. He was supported by a grant from the Administration for Native Americans. His job was to find historical documents to help them get federal recognition. Hazel looked into different ideas about where the Dimery Settlement came from. Some thought they were descendants of the historic Waccamaw people. Others thought they might be from Spaniards or Portuguese people. Another idea was that they were a mix of Civil War deserters, runaway slaves, and Native Americans. Some even thought they were related to the Lumbee people of Robeson County, North Carolina. However, Hazel could not find enough historical records to prove any of these ideas.
Hazel's research did confirm that John Dimery, the settlement's leader, married Elizabeth Hardwick in Marion County, South Carolina in 1809. By 1813, he had moved to Horry County and bought land. In the 1850 United States census, John Dimery was listed as a "free colored" person. The census also showed he was born in North Carolina.
Hazel noted that there might have been indigenous people living near Dog Bluff when Dimery arrived. This is because a very old village site from the Woodland Period was found nearby. But Hazel felt there wasn't strong proof to connect Dimery's family directly to these ancient people. Records from the 1800s show that members of the Dimery Settlement lived much like their neighbors. They did not show any special indigenous customs or language.
Hazel also looked into other important family names in the community, like Hatcher. He found that this family had connections to traders in the early 1700s. These traders worked along the North Carolina-Virginia border and traded with various tribes. He also found Hatchers, Dimerys, and Coopers within the Lumbee Tribe. Hazel thought that many of these families, including those in the Dimery Settlement, likely came from near the historic Cheraw settlement in Marlboro County.
Later researchers have pointed out that racially mixed groups often moved between Horry, Marlboro, Dillon, and Robeson counties. They found that members of the Waccamaw Indian People are often closely related to families like the Ammons, Coopers, Dimerys, Hatchers, and Turners in areas like McColl, Clio, Maxton, and Pembroke.
Working Towards Federal Recognition
On October 5, 1994, when they were still called the Chicora-Waccamaw People, the organization sent a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This letter stated their intention to ask for federal recognition as a tribe.
In 2021, U.S. Representatives Tom Rice and Nancy Mace from South Carolina introduced a bill called HR 1942, the Waccamaw Indian Acknowledgment Act. This bill aimed to help the organization get federal recognition. However, the bill was never voted on and was not discussed during its two years in Congress.
As of December 2023, the office of U.S. Representative Russell Fry has been working with the Waccamaw Indian People. They are supporting the group's efforts to gain federal recognition.
Dispute Over the Name "Chicora"
Before the Waccamaw Indian People changed their name, there were public arguments and legal issues about their use of the name "Chicora." A notable event happened in 1993 between Chief Gene Martin of the Chicora Indian Tribe and Second-Chief Bill "Kicking Bear" Fowler of the Chicora-Waccamaw. This argument became public at a powwow hosted by the Lumbee Tribe in Pembroke, North Carolina. The main issue was who had the right to use the "Chicora" name.
Chief Martin later faced charges, but they were dropped because the incident happened outside of Horry County's area. Martin felt his group had the right to the name "Chicora." He thought about suing the Chicora-Waccamaw to make them change their name. Harold Hatcher, from the Chicora-Waccamaw, said that "Chicora" was a regional name. He said it didn't mean they were claiming a specific tribal heritage. In 1994, Hatcher publicly stated that he and Martin had resolved their disagreement. Later, in 2002, the Waccamaw Indian People voted to remove "Chicora" from their name. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicora Indian Tribe.
Other Activities of the Waccamaw Indian People
In 2004, the Waccamaw Indian People bought twenty acres of land. This land was once part of the historic Dimery Settlement near Dog Bluff. They call this land the "Waccamaw Tribal Grounds." The organization uses it to hold cultural events and an annual powwow every November.
In 2021, the Horry County Museum featured an exhibit called The Waccamaw Indian People: Past, Present, and Future.
See also
